Steer wrestler Tucker Allen slides his steer en route to a 4.4-second run to finish in the money during Saturday’s third round of the National Finals Rodeo.
(PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)

 

LAS VEGAS – When Tucker Allen enters the timed-event box, he turns around on a powerful bay gelding and backs Banker into the corner.

As he sits and watches the steer in the chute, Allen can feel the tingles that run through his body as he prepares to compete. Those shivers are intensified when the panels and chute are the distinguishable color of yellow, reflecting on the magnitude of the National Finals Rodeo.

But there’s also a calm that comes with confidence. As he sits astride the 2025 PRCA/AQHA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, Allen’s confidence brews. It’s creating a stew based on all the exponential factors of his own ability, the greatness of the bay that’s about to burst out into the Thomas & Mack Center dirt and the man on his right, friend and traveling partner Justin Shaffer, who owns Banker and serves as Allen’s hazer to keep the steers in line.

It’s a winning combination. After winning Friday’s round, Allen returned to the pay window with a 4.4-second run to finish in a tie for sixth place in Saturday’s third round. It was worth just shy of $3,000, but it was another step that contributes to success in the overall scheme of things.

“Now, we know all the pens of steers,” said Allen, 26, of Ventura, California. “Starting tomorrow, we’ll see Jace Honey’s pen that went in the first round. I think it will get a lot wolfier. The guys know the cattle, know the starts to take, and I’m excited for that part.”

Like all major professional athletes, cowboys do as much homework as possible. Allen and the other 14 bulldoggers know the three sets of steers that will be used during the NFR, and having seen the animals perform in Las Vegas gives them an idea of what it will be like when the random draw is released.

“The biggest thing is you’ve got to know what start to take,” he said, referring to allowing the animal the appropriate head start to ensure a quality run necessary to cash in; only the top six placings earn money each of the 10 rounds.

It’s going to be fast at the Thomas & Mack, so Allen wants Banker to take off right when the steer leaves the chute.

“You’ve got to know the steer’s pattern on the field, and then, obviously, once you get ahold of them how they feel,” said Allen, who has accumulated just shy of $50,000 in three days and is third in the world standings with $200,493. “I make sure how they start, and then I just see what they do once you get them. I try not to overthink it a lot.”

It’s working.